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Headlines: Dec. 4, 2012

Headlines: Dec. 4, 2012

FIFA has announced the three finalists for its annual World Player of the Year and, once again, it has come down to the usual suspects. Three-time FIFA World Player of the Year honoree Lionel Messi, UEFA Euro 2012 Player of the Tournament Andres Iniesta, and 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo make up the three candidates.

Despite not winning La Liga last season, Lionel Messi is the favorite to take home the coveted prize. It would be an unprecedented fourth consecutive award for the 25-year-old diminutive Argentine. Messi’s 2011/2012 season goal-scoring streak has eclipsed his previous highs. He sits at 84 goals in the 2012 calendar year, one shy of Gerd Muller’s all-time record.

The much glamorized Cristiano Ronaldo may have been overshadowed in recent years by Lionel Messi as a byproduct of an incessant media campaign. This hasn’t stopped Ronaldo from hoisting the La Liga trophy; Real Madrid’s first since the 2007/2008 season. Ronaldo bagged 60 goals this past season including an astonishing 46 league goals in 38 games played.

Another FC Barcelona star and product of Barcelona’s famed La Masia youth academy, Andres Iniesta enters the fold without the goal-scoring knack that his counterparts possess. Yet the midfield maestro has once again orchestrated the tempo of a rhythmic Barcelona side. Deservedly named the UEFA Euro 2012 Player of the Tournament, Iniesta is seeking his first FIFA World Player of the Year honor.

View The New York Times article on the FIFA World Player of the Year finalists by clicking here:

Alex Morgan named U.S. Soccer’s Female Athlete of the Year

Alex Morgan’s 2012 could not be any smoother. After leading the USWNT to Olympic Gold in London, the 23-year-old former Cal star has been named U.S. Soccer’s Female Athlete of the Year.

Morgan has recorded 38 goals in 55 games played for the U.S. Women’s National Team, many of which have been timely finishes. Included in this was her 123rd minute game-winning goal against Canada in the Olympics semifinals.

Warren Smith and an unnamed partnership group have successfully secured the rights to bring in a USL team to Sacramento. The team aims to begin play in 2014 and will use Sacramento City College’s Hughes Stadium as their home facility.

Smith is no stranger to Sacramento-area professional sports as he was integral in bringing in the Triple-A Sacramento RiverCats from Vancouver, Canada.

With the addition of another Northern California professional soccer team, will a budding rivalry develop between the two sides? Although they are on different tiers of the American soccer pyramid, the greater San Jose and Sacramento areas will be at the fore to develop the sport’s passion in Northern California.

Bill Peterson, a former executive with Anschutz Entertainment Group and NFL Europe, has been named the commissioner of the NASL. Entering its third season in 2013, the NASL looks for new guidance under the experienced Peterson.

Peterson will lead the nine-team league out of their Florida office. The current Chairman of USA Cycling Board of Directors, Peterson will oversee expansion efforts by the NASL that will include the New York Cosmos in 2013 as well as targeted areas of Virginia and Ottowa in the years ahead.